CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19) SERVICES UPDATE: Find out about services open under Alert Level 2. Please note, we are currently experiencing higher than normal volumes of work so please be patient as our teams work at reduced capacity. More information on our services

Big lift coming up at landmark Onehunga footbridge

A 35-metre steel pylon will be erected overnight next Wednesday 3 February at the site of the new Beachcroft Avenue foot bridge over the Southwestern Motorway (SH20) at Onehunga.

A 35-metre steel pylon will be erected overnight next Wednesday 3 February at the site of the new Beachcroft Avenue foot bridge over the Southwestern Motorway (SH20) at Onehunga.

The pylon will support a new cable-stayed foot bridge that is expected to become a landmark on Auckland’s planned Western Ring Route.

It will be lifted into place by crane under an overnight closure of the northbound lanes of the motorway.

The new Beachcroft footbridge will replace an existing bridge that is too short to fit across all lanes of the widened motorway below. It will be a 3.5-metre wide shared cycle and pedestrian bridge connecting Hillsborough and Onehunga.

The bridge’s bright blue trusses will be installed, also under night closures of the motorway, later in February. It is expected to be completed in early April, after which the existing bridge will be demolished.

Both the pylon and the deck trusses of the bridge have been manufactured by New Plymouth based company Taranaki Engineering.

The footbridge is being built as part of the Manukau Harbour Crossing project, which is doubling the motorway’s capacity from Queenstown Road in Onehunga to Walmsley Road in Mangere. The project includes a new, four-lane bridge across the Manukau Harbour for southbound traffic.

The Beachcroft footbridge is one of 10 initiatives, as part of the Manukau Harbour Crossing project, to make it easier and safer to get around on foot or on bicycles. Already in use is a new shared cycle and pedestrian bridge over the motorway at Hastie Avenue, south of the Mangere Bridge.

Still to be started is a bridge over Onehunga Harbour Road to give cyclists and pedestrians a traffic-free route to and from the Old Mangere Bridge and its associated networks of cycleways and walkways both sides of the Manukau Harbour.

On 17 February the Manukau Harbour Crossing project will co-host, with Manukau City Council, the second Go By Bike Breakfast in Mangere Bridge Village.

The NZ Transport Agency works to create transport solutions for all New Zealanders – from helping new drivers earn their licences, to leading safety campaigns to investing in public transport, state highways and local roads.